Fall
by MCMelly
Summary: When dropped from on high, drifting, twirling, falling down, a feather will float.
1. Prologue: Damn This Rain

(Stein's POV)

"Lord Death, you wanted to see me?" I roll up through the torii gates toward the reaper, lazily chewing the end of my spent cigarette as I go.

"Oh, hello, Stein!" Lord Death waves one massive hand in greeting. "Yes, I need to speak with you about a most serious matter."

"Well," I pick up my chair and set it down on Lord Death's platform. "Here I am. What is this most serious matter?" I sit down backwards in my chair and roll closer to my boss, looking up at him curiously.

"We're going to be having some visitors in the next few days." Lord Death's comical voice is uncharacteristicly serious.

"And?" I reach up and twist the screw through my skull. "We've had visitors before. What's so special about these visitors?"

"Well, these visitors are not meisters, per se." He claps his hands together. "And one of them will be staying for an indefinite amount of time."

"Well, this will make for an interesting event." I lean forward, placing my arms on the back of my chair. "When will these visitors get here and why are you telling me and no one else?"

"They should be here within the next few days." He turns back to his mirror. "And as to why I'm telling you, I've decided you get to help me keep an eye on our house guest."

I furrow my brow, confused. "Why me?"

"Because, as odd as it sounds, I think you're the only one that she will be able to properly tolerate."

(Elvira's POV)

Damn this rain. Huge, fat droplets fall in sheets and pool in hordes on the ground, on the leaves of the trees, in the folds of my cloak, soaking my mount and me to the bone.

Assaulted from above and below from the endless rain, travel has been hard and slow, and time is of the essence. I must get to Death City before it is too late, before I am too weak, and waterlogged, to go on.

I'll say it again.

"Damn this rain."


	2. Chapter 1: Fact from Fiction

(Elvira's POV)

"Hey! Hey, you!"

I turn and see several rain soaked villagers brandishing swords, pitchforks, shovels and various other makeshift weapons. Angry scowls stare back at me. I regard them calmly, taking a tighter hold on Titan's bridle. "Yes? How can I help you?"

One of them, an elderly man, steps forward, his sword held ready. "You can help us by getting the hell out of our village!" His beady eyes glare at me from the folds of his face. "We don't like strangers, and you especially!" The sword's tip comes dangerously close to stabbing me as the man takes another step forward.

Titan, noticing the growing danger, steps closer to me, eyeing the crowd warily and shaking his horned head. A quiet nicker escapes him. I steal a glance at him, tightening my grip further. "Oh? And why is that? I've never been here, old man." I glance behind me, waiting for the feed and other supplies I ordered to make an appearance.

"We've been warned about you, witch!" A younger man, brandishing a rusty spear, shoves through the crowd, pushing his elder back into the folds of the villagers. "You travel around on that two horned beast," He waves his spear toward Titan, nearly piercing the equine's black hide. "Stealing the souls of the innocent to feed to him. Well, not here, you won't! Hya!" The man lunges forward, aiming for Titan's exposed flank.

The old wood snaps easily, leaving its rusty spear head behind in my hand. "I suggest," I toss the useless article to the ground in front of the crowd. "You stop listening to rumors." I pick up the feed and supplies I ordered, settle them on my saddle, and mount up, turning Titan toward the town's southern entrance. None of the villagers offer to escort me on my way.

(Stein's POV)

"Now, Lord Death," The cloaked reaper turns to face me. "You said these visitors aren't meisters?"

"Well, one isn't, per se." He scratches his head with one massive hand.

"Well, are they or aren't they?" I reach up and twist the screw through my skull, eyeing Lord Death curiously. "They can't be both a meister and not."

Lord Death is quiet for a minute. "I'll put it this way, Stein. Meister is not their official title."

"Then what are they, Lord Death?" I stop twisting my screw to lean forward in my chair, resting my arms on the back of it.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you yet, Stein." Lord Death turns his back to me. "It would put you in too much danger. You'll just have to see when they get here."

(Elvira's POV)

"Well, Titan," I stop my cappal vahree* at the top of a hill overlooking Death City. The DWMA's massive shape looms over the rest of the buildings, a yellow moon with a crooked, blood dripping grin hovering over it, just barely visible through a gap in the clouds. "We'll be there within the next two days," I tug his jacket closer to him and pull my hood closer about my head to block out the endless rain. "Weather permitting, that is."

*Pronounced CAP-al VAH-ree


End file.
